Scarlett's Story
by EventuallyConcedes
Summary: "If our love is a tragedy; why are you my remedy?" A story following Scarlett and Jack through friendship, to lovers, Jack's death and Scarlett's reassignment to NOBLE Team. Prequel to Forevermore.
1. Introduction

**A/N: My first shot at this. I wrote this story so that you'd know more of Scarlett's past, as well as having some character build-up for Jack.  
Apologies if this is slightly short and sweet. Mainly because this is just the Introduction.  
**

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It was an early morning in May, when the Covenant began glassing Six's, or otherwise know as, Scarlett's planet. They had been attacking for quite some time, causing general havoc in the cities. Scarlett's mother and father thought it best for their daughter to hide away in the countryside, where the Covenant couldn't find them. They hid the threat from her, to keep her safe. But that couldn't last forever. The Covenant were ruthless.

Scarlett's mother gently prodded a sleeping Scarlett. It had been reported that the Covenant had began glassing the planet's main cities. Scarlett's mother and father were to head out and find suitable transportation off the planet, then take Scarlett when they did, to escape. It would be the last time Scarlett would see her parents alive.  
"Sweetheart, I need you to hide," Scarlett's mother gently told a Six-Year-Old Scarlett, enclosing a locket of her and her father in Scarlett's hand. "Stay under your bed. Don't make a sound. Don't come out unless you hear people." Scarlett's mother ordered.  
Scarlett nodded, sensing the seriousness in her tone. "Momma...I love you."  
Scarlett's mother fought away tears. "I love you too. Me and your Father love you very, very much. Be safe, my little one." She kissed Scarlett gently on the forehead and waited until Scarlett had crawled under the bed before leaving.  
Afraid, Scarlett curled up with her favourite Teddy bear. Every now and then, a loud deafening noise would sound, and everything would violently shake. Scarlett didn't know what was going on. She bit back any tears that came and believed that her parents would come back.

It was a few hours later when the search and rescue from the UNSC came. They were a small group of SPARTAN-II's. Scarlett, exhausted from waking up so early that morning, had fallen asleep, despite trying not to.  
The SPARTANs spilt up, searching desperately for survivors. One, a young male in his twenties called Danny, searched the room Scarlett was hidden in. He searched her wardrobe, under the bed sheets and around the room, yet failed to search under the bed. If it hadn't been for Scarlett's shifting as she woke, he wouldn't have found her.  
He got down on his hands and feet and peered under. He saw Scarlett curled up with her favourite teddy bear, fast asleep.  
"Guys," He whispered, gesturing for the others to come over. "Found a girl."  
The SPARTANs arranged the operation quietly, so that they wouldn't wake Scarlett. But by the time they reached the Pelican waiting outside for them, she had already stirred, due to the deafening sound of the glassing.  
Her eyes widened in fear and shock as she looked up at Danny, who was carrying her in his arms. She couldn't see a face because of his visor, and it scared her.  
But Scarlett remained quiet nonetheless. Instead of crying and struggling like most of her age would, she pretend to be asleep, to find out where they were taking her. She never lost hope that her parents would return. She was convinced that they would find her.

Ten years had passed, and Scarlett, amongst the others in Beta Company had let go of that hope a long time ago.  
When she first arrived at Camp Currahee on Onyx with the rest of the Children, Scarlett was worn out and confused.  
Mendez and Kurt had been kind to the Children. Their ages had varied; Scarlett, Kat and Jack were just six when they arrived, but other children were as old as 12.  
"Alright, listen up, guys," Kurt spoke to the gathered Children. "We're going to have to confiscate any items you may have on you now."  
This meant that the teddy bear Scarlett had clutched to had to be taken away. But she slipped the locket her mother had given her the last time she saw her into her pocket, and kept quiet about it.

Scarlett was now sixteen.  
She lay on the bed in her room and pulled out the locker from her pocket, opening it and looking at the small pictures she had of her mother and father. It was the only thing that really helped her remember their faces. But she never forgot how the Covenant had killed her parents. She vowed to get vengeance. For them.  
There was a light knock at the door. Scarlett quickly slipped the locket back in her pocket and sat up straight.  
Kat slipped in through the door, a book in her hand. She never seemed to let go of the books, Scarlett often thought. But apparently she had gotten into hacking systems, wanting to know what business wasn't for her to know. Kat had a sharp side, much like a real cat with claws. Scarlett didn't want to see that side of Kat, so she didn't say anything.  
"You know, OPERATION: TORPEDO is due to start tomorrow." Kat suddenly notified Scarlett. The two had grown close after sharing a room and during training.  
"What, you hack into another system to guess that?" Scarlett joked.  
"Maybe..."  
Scarlett's eyes widened. "No way. You did not."  
"Oh, I did. I heard Mendez and Kurt discussing about it. Come on, I had to find out."  
Scarlett sighed softly. This was typical Kat behaviour.  
Suddenly, the door swung open and there stood Mendez and Kurt. Scarlett, much like Kat, was worried that it would be about Kat's recent hacking.  
"B312, B320, we are removing you from training into the field." Mendez informed them.  
"What?" Both Scarlett and Kat questioned, shocked.  
"OPERATION: TORPEDO begins tomorrow. We will be sending 300 soldiers from Beta into this Operation, but we believe you two, along with B489 have great potential elsewhere." Kurt informed them.  
"B312, you'll be doing solo operations with B489. B320, you will be joining NOBLE Team, consisting of IIIs from Alpha Company."  
The girls looked at each other, shocked. This, they expected, would be the last thing they would ever see of each other.


	2. New Relations (Scarlett's POV)

**A/N: So this story will go in Scarlett's POV and Jack's POV in every chapter. Next chapter will be this through Jack's POV.**

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**Chapter 2 - New Relations (Scarlett's POV)**

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Scarlett sighed happily, putting her new Air Assault armor on. Her armor was basic, at the moment, but she'd been told she'd earn cR after succeeding in battles, which she could spend in the Armory for new upgrades.  
After all, there wasn't much else the credits could be used for.  
Scarlett's thoughts had often drifted to Kat, and how she was holding up with all the other IIIs in the newly formed Noble Team.  
Finally, Jack strolled out of the base Scarlett had been waiting outside of. Scarlett's jaw dropped. Jack's armor looked perfect, unlike the armor she had been given.  
"How did you...?" She asked, eyeing the Gold Visor, Commando chest-piece and Soft Case utility. "Surely you have to rank up for that!"  
Jack smirked, before putting his helmet back on. "Let's just say I know the right people."  
Scarlett rolled her eyes. '_Great, a cocky know-it-all as my teammate_.' She thought.  
"Well, are you going to get in the 'hog, or make friends with the building paneling?" Jack asked sarcastically.  
Scarlett rolled her eyes and hopped into the gunners seat, Jack driving.  
"Where are we going, anyway?" Scarlett asked, as Jack began driving very fast and not very safely.  
"New Llanelli, in Brunel system. Covenant are attacking the planet and the UNSC are requesting all available personnel to help immediately," Jack explained cooly. "So, of course, our skills are valued much and we are so desperately needed." He finished with a cocky tone.  
Scarlett got the feeling that Jack was incredibly full of himself and believed that Spartans were far above the Marines in every possible way. Sighing, she got more grasped the gun tightly as a response at Jack's driving. She was not looking forward to working with him.

Finally, they arrived at the Pelican waiting to take them off Onyx and to New Llanelli.  
Jack skidded to a halt, making Scarlett glare down at him.  
"We're here." Jack informed her, clambering out of the drivers seat. He looked at her, still on the gun, then gestured towards the Pelicans open hangar door, "Ladies first."  
Scarlett smiled slightly at this. He wasn't as bad as she had initially thought. At least he was relatively gentlemanly.  
Scarlett climbed into the Pelican and sat in a seat right by the hangar door. There wasn't anybody else onboard, just some spare Assault Rifles and ammo lying on the floor. She suspected that some marines had been here previously.  
Jack climbed in, sitting opposite her. He crossed his arms and sighed heavily.  
He was silent for the rest of the journey, and because of his helmet, Scarlett couldn't tell if he was sleeping or just thinking. But the journey to New Llanelli would be quite long, so Scarlett decided to take a page from Jack's book and get some sleep, too.  
Scarlett awoke to an annoying nudging on her shoulder. Her mouth was dry and she was thirsty. That was the only thing about sleeping with her helmet on.  
She turned her head towards were the nudging was coming from. Jack stood there, an Assault Rifle in his hands. The hangar door behind him was open, and a battle was raging in the background behind him.  
"Come on, we've arrived." He said, sounding rather irritated.  
Scarlett grabbed her DMR and jumped out of the Pelican onto wet ground. Up ahead lay a large forest.  
"Where are exactly are we going?" She asked Jack, confused.  
"Across the forest is an facility that's under attack," Jack explained. "We can't take a Warthog through there. It's far too dense. We'll be too slow."  
"So we're going to walk, through a dark and thick forest?" Scarlett clarified.  
"Yep!" Jack replied rather cheerily, which made Scarlett even madder.  
"You don't have to be so obnoxious and unhelpful." She replied through gritted teeth, taking point and entering the forest.  
"Watch your motion tracker." Jack advised Scarlett, either choosing to ignore her comment or just hadn't heard it.  
They walked for quite some time, coming across nothing. Scarlett stiffed a yawn, bored with the lack of combat so far. It was her first time out of training, in a real field, and so far nothing interesting had happened.  
Suddenly though, they both heard rustling. "What was that?" Scarlett asked, her heart thudding. What if they were being flanked by Covenant?  
"Probably just some wild animals," Jack replied calmly. "Keep moving." He ordered, prodding her in the back.  
Scarlett sighed, but did as she had been told, jumping over a few fallen tree trunks, keeping an eye out. She swore she saw a flash of white go across the path in front of her, but blamed it on her tiredness.  
"Hey, I can see the other side of the forest ahead!" She called behind to Jack, suddenly jogging ahead, wanting to get out of the forest.  
"Wait for me," Jack began to call back, but Scarlett hadn't heard. Sighing, he increased his speed to catch up with her.  
Scarlett was getting closer to the exit of the first. At last, she could get into some real combat instead of this boring forest.  
Suddenly, an Ultra Elite wielding an Energy Sword came out of nowhere, growling viciously at Scarlett. So that was the white she had sworn she had seen.  
Trying not to panic, she shot the Elite with her DMR. However it dodged with every shot, her bullets simply clipping the Elite.  
The Elite roared, holding its Sword up, about to stab Scarlett. She held her breath and closed her eyes, knowing she couldn't win this battle, and just accepting that she was going to die.  
She waited for the pain of the sword impaling her, but nothing came. She reluctantly opened her eyes and was shocked to see the Elite's eyes wide open, before collapsing by her feet, dead.  
She looked down at the now dead Elite, stumped to what had managed to kill it. Looking back up, she saw Jack standing there, staring straight at her, a bloodied combat knife in one hand.  
He had saved her.  
"That's why you keep your eyes and ears open, and why you don't run off." He told her, taking one of her hands and leading her out of the forest.  
Once they had gotten out of the forest, he sat her down on a nearby rock. Her hands were shaking.  
"Are you alright?" Jack asked, concerned.  
Scarlett nodded, still shaking from the shock. "You saved me." She whispered. She had never expected herself to come so close to death. Of course, the IIIs had been told that there would be dangers out there, but they had also been told the propaganda, "_Spartans never die_."  
Scarlett had over-estimated herself, believing that nothing would harm her and that nothing could kill her. This was a wake-up call to her. She had to be more careful in the future.  
"Yeah, it was nothing," Jack responded, shrugging this off. His cocky attitude seemed to have momentarily disappeared.  
Scarlett realized then that Jack wasn't all she had initially thought he was. He wasn't obnoxious, or unhelpful. He was helpful; he had just saved her life. She could have become another statistic, another Spartan MIA. But she was fine, and that was due to him.  
"I'm okay." She told him, swallowing hard and standing up. "Let's just get there, yeah?"  
Jack nodded, not taking his eyes off her. He was still concerned.  
"I can call transport in," He offered. "If you want."  
Scarlett nodded, grabbing her DMR. "That'd be good."  
Jack turned away and spoke into COMMS, "This is SPARTANs B489 and B312. Requesting transport, over."  
"Copy that, tracking your position…" A voice replied. "Transport is inbound your location."  
Jack nodded, satisfied. "Alright. Now we wait."  
A few moments later and transport finally arrived. Jack got in the drivers seat again, Scarlett gunning. They headed over to main city of New Llanelli.

After en-counting a large Covenant attack force, and saving several civilians, Scarlett and Jack were heading back from their mission to a make-shift base on the planet for the night.  
Jack had once again been very silent on the Pelican ride back, and assuming he had fallen asleep, Scarlett took out her locket and looked at the photos of her parents. She sighed and thought of them, feeling sad that they were gone.  
"What's that?" Jack suddenly asked. Scarlett realized that he obviously wasn't sleeping. He was just thinking.  
Knowing that there was no point in hiding the locket and pretending it was nothing, she decided to tell him, "It's a locket my mother gave me the last time I saw her."  
Jack nodded. "I see. Soft spot, huh?"  
Scarlett was surprised to hear this from him. "Yeah." She quietly replied.  
"Well, for me, my mom left me and my dad when I was like 3. So my dad had to bring me up single-handed. When the Covenant invaded my planet, he freaked out. He didn't know what to do. Ran for it, and left me alone in the house," He chuckled at this memory. "Never really knew what happened to him and mom," He added, more silently. "I can only hope that they somehow survived. If they did, they'll think I'll be dead by now. Probably forgotten about me."  
"I'm sure they haven't." Scarlett replied gently. "How could you, if you lost a child to the Covenant."  
Jack swallowed, feeling emotional. "Yeah, you're probably right." He agreed, turning his head away from Scarlett. "Anyway, I'm going to get some more rest."  
Scarlett nodded, knowing that the real reason was that he didn't want to talk about it anymore. Even so, she hadn't expected Jack to open up and tell her. But somehow, she felt closer to him. He had saved her life, and she confided in him about her parents, something she rarely did.  
Perhaps he couldn't be such a bad teammate after all.


	3. New Relations (Jack's POV)

**A/N: Last update until after Christmas, gonna be quite busy.**

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**Chapter 2 - New Relations - _Jack's POV._**

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"There's your upgrade." The marine running the armory tiredly informed Jack.  
Jack looked himself up and down, pleased with his new armor permutations.  
"Tell nobody about your deal, yes?" Jack hissed at the marine. He had managed to bribe the poor guy with cR, which of course he had no intention of giving to him.  
"Uh, yeah, sure." The marine stammered nervously.  
Jack smirked under his helmet and headed out, where Scarlett was waiting.  
Her armor looked basic compared to his. '_Rookie_.' He silently thought, smug that she'd never be able to bribe like he had.  
Scarlett turned to him. "How did you...?" She asked, looking at his armor. "Surely you have to rank up for that!"  
Jack smirked, pleased that he was making his fellow Spartans envious already. "Let's just say, I know the right people." He replied simply, putting his helmet on.  
Scarlett didn't reply and didn't move. Jack rolled his eyes, impatient. "Well, are you going to get in the 'hog, or make friends with the building paneling?" He asked sarcastically, knowing he was getting on her nerves and enjoying it.  
Scarlett got into the gunners seat, still not saying anything. Jack got into the drivers seat and started driving fast, something he enjoyed.  
"Where are we going, anyway?" Scarlett suddenly spoke up.  
"New Llanelli, in Brunel system. Covenant are attacking the planet and the UNSC are requesting all available personnel to help immediately," Jack explained, slightly annoyed that she didn't even know where their mission was going to be based. "So, of course, our skills are valued much and we are so desperately needed." He finished with a rather cocky tone.  
Jack didn't really seem to care what Scarlett thought of him. Heck, he didn't care what _anybody_ really thought. He, like all the other Spartan Children, had been told, "_Spartans never die_". Obviously he knew this wasn't true, they weren't invincible. But it gave him a sense of power, almost an entitlement. Proof that the Spartans were thought of more than your average marine; That's what gave him his cockiness. The fact that he could and would be better than anybody else.

Finally, they arrived at the Pelican waiting to take them off Onyx and to New Llanelli.  
Jack skidded to a halt, happy with the outcome of the skid. He liked driving fast and didn't really care what his passengers thought of it. After all, why would he listen to _their_ opinions?  
"We're here." He informed Scarlett, as if it wasn't already obvious enough. He looked at her, expecting her to get out of the gun first. When she didn't, he added, "Ladies first."  
Scarlett looked at him for a spilt second, before getting out of the Warthog and into the Pelican. Jack smirked, thinking that he had her wrapped around his finger.  
He climbed in the Pelican after her, sitting opposite her and sighing heavily. This trip would be long, so he took the chance and decided to get some sleep while he could.  
He woke up to the sound of the Pelican slowing down slightly. He looked over at Scarlett, who appeared to be sleeping. Gently, he nudged her shoulder, trying to wake her up. After a few nudges she woke up, looking around and finally seeing him.  
"Come on, we've arrived." He informed her with clipped words, slightly irritated that he had to wake her, instead of getting over with the battle. It was like babysitting a little girl.  
Jack jumped out of the Pelican and waited, whilst Scarlett grabbed her DMR and jumped out, landing beside him. "Where are we going, exactly?" She asked. He could hear the confusion in her voice.  
"Across the forest is an facility that's under attack," Jack explained. "We can't take a Warthog through there. It's far too dense. We'll be too slow."  
"So we're going to walk, through a dark and thick forest?" Scarlett clarified.  
"Yep!" Jack responded, acting deliberately cheery just to get on her nerves even more. He had to admit, it was fun messing with Scarlett.  
"You don't have to be so obnoxious and unhelpful." Scarlett responded, clearly mad at him. Jack simply rolled his eyes and smirked, watching her as she took point and started walking through the forest.  
"Watch your motion tracker," He advised her, choosing to change the subject. There could be, and most likely were, hostiles hanging around in the forest, waiting for prey.  
They walked for some time, coming across nothing. Scarlett yawned, and appeared to be bored, whilst Jack kept an eye out around him.  
Suddenly, they both heard rustling. "What was that?" Scarlett asked.  
Jack could hear the panic in her voice, and decided to try and calm her, "Probably just some wild animals," He replied, keeping his tone calm and neutral as to not freak her out anymore. "Keep moving." He gently prodded her in the back, a gesture he knew would probably irritate her.  
Scarlett sighed, but did not say anything more. They walked in more silence, Scarlett jumping over a few fallen tree trunks. Suddenly, she spoke up, "Hey, I can see the other side of the forest ahead!" Jack squinted slightly, seeing it too. Scarlett had begun jogging off already, obviously eager to get out of the forest.  
Jack sighed and called, "Wait for me." But to no effect, as Scarlett had not heard.  
He decided to take shortcut around the trees and hopefully, manage to catch up to Scarlett this way. He could see her, but suddenly, she halted, not moving or speaking. Concerned, Jack ran faster and saw an Elite wielding an Energy Sword in front of her, growling viscously. It was about to strike, but Jack threw his combat knife at it, stabbing it at the back of the head.  
The Elite stood still for a moment, and Jack worried that it hadn't worked. But it crumpled to the ground, and Jack grabbed his now bloody combat knife out of it, looking at Scarlett, concerned.  
"That's why you keep your eyes and ears open, and why you don't run off," He gently scolded her, taking her hand and leading her out of the forest.  
Once they had gotten out of the forest, he sat her down on a nearby rock, still concerned. "Are you alright?" He asked.  
Scarlett nodded, "You saved me." She whispered. He could tell this was a wake-up call to her, that Spartans could die easily, and that they weren't as invincible as they liked to think.  
"Yeah, it was nothing." Jack replied, shrugging. He knew this wasn't the time to act cocky – She had almost died.  
"I'm okay," Scarlett suddenly spoke up, as if she had just read his thoughts. "Let's just get there, yeah?"  
Jack nodded, looking at her, frowning under his helmet. He wasn't sure if it was the shock speaking, or if she really was okay.  
"I can call transport in," He offered her. "If you want."  
Scarlett nodded, grabbing her DMR. "That'd be good."  
Jack nodded, turning away from her and speaking into COMMS, "This is SPARTANs B489 and B312. Requesting transport, over."  
"Copy that, tracking your location…" A voice replied. "Transport is inbound your location."  
Jack nodded, satisfied, turning back to Scarlett. "Now we wait." He informed her.  
A few moments later and transport finally arrived. Jack got in the drivers seat again, Scarlett gunning. They headed over to main city of New Llanelli.

After en-counting a large Covenant attack force, and saving several civilians, Scarlett and Jack were heading back from their mission to a make-shift base on the planet for the night.  
Jack was again quiet for the Pelican ride. Truthfully, he didn't know what to say. But he was certain Scarlett wasn't that keen on him. After all, he had annoyed her a lot.  
He looked over at Scarlett, who was also silent. Suddenly, she pulled a locket out of her armor and opened it, silently looking at the photos inside.  
Curious to who was in it, Jack spoke up, "What's that?" He asked.  
Scarlett was silent for a moment before responding, "It's a locket my mother gave me the last time I saw her."  
Jack nodded, understanding this. He didn't have anything to remember them by; Just the fact that their marriage was dysfunctional and his Father had ran off during his planets glassing, leaving a six-year-old Jack alone, scared. Thankfully the Covenant hadn't searched his house, and eventually, he was saved by a group of SPARTAN-IIs. The only memory of his parents was their divorce and his father leaving him behind.  
"I see. Soft spot, huh?" He replied, wanting to convince her that she wasn't the only one with sore memories of the past.  
Scarlett almost seemed surprised that had replied, much less actually said that. "Yeah." She quietly replied, looking back at her locket.  
"Well, for me, my mom left me and my dad when I was like 3. So my dad had to bring me up single-handed. When the Covenant invaded my planet, he freaked out. He didn't know what to do. Ran for it, and left me alone in the house," Jack explained, chuckling at his father's stupidity. "Never really knew what happened to him and mom," He added, more silently. "I can only hope that they somehow survived. If they did, they'll think I'll be dead by now. Probably forgotten about me."  
"I'm sure they haven't." Scarlett replied gently. "How could you, if you lost a child to the Covenant."  
Jack looked at her, surprised that she had said that. It was a whole new side of her he had never suspected her having; She acted so human, much unlike the other children, who seemed so hell-bent of destruction of the Covenant, after their own childhoods. He knew then, that Scarlett was much unlike any other Spartan.  
He wasn't sure exactly why he had told her about his childhood; He often refused to even speak of it. But something about her, seemed as if she wouldn't judge. That she would listen, and understand.  
Jack swallowed, feeling emotional. "Yeah, you're probably right." He agreed, turning his head away from Scarlett. "Anyway, I'm going to get some more rest."

He didn't close his eyes straight away, or try and get some rest. Instead, he thought of how this new team thing would work for the both of them, and how, perhaps he could have been less annoying and impatient to her before.


End file.
